"Jumbo's sneeze is like the bursting of a boiler."

An elephant sneezing in Baltimore allowed Brooklyn Daily Eagle editors to fill some column space and also to traffic in stereotypes in the July 28 1902 issue. An excerpt:

“Jumbo II sneezed yesterday. To the average person this information is of no startling importance, but to those who happened to be on the Midway at the Maryland Industrial Exposition when Jumbo sneezed the event was one long to be remembered. Jumbo’s sneeze is like the bursting of a boiler, and it created a fairly good sized panic.

The elephant began to get ready for the sneeze a half an hour before it happened, and as the time for the event drew near he was rolling about in his cage in great agony. Suddenly he stopped, gave one bellow and then sneezed.

The look of perfect contentment on his face after the great event was in startling contrast to the terror seen on the faces of the fleeing people. Visitors to the exposition were running in all directions, not knowing what awful thing they were racing away from.

Among the Mohammedans of the Oriental and Cingalese villages Jumbo’s sneeze caused wild excitement. Oriental folk are most superstitious about elephants, and they believe to hear one sneeze brings all kinds of good luck. They rushed to Jumbo’s cage and, bowing low before his elephantine highness, began praying at a rapid rate.

When they finished they explained that an elephant’s sneezes are of the rarest occurrence, and the event was one of great significance to them. Elephants are susceptible to cold and catch cold easily, but it is very, very rarely that they sneeze.

Captain Miller, Jumbo’s keeper, says it is a good thing this is so, for a few more sneezes like Jumbo had yesterday might blow the top of his head off.”